Andalusia Health Services, Inc., awarded approximately $55,000 in scholarships to 15 recipients at Tuesday’s scholarship signing celebration at Andalusia Regional Hospital.

The foundation fund was started decades ago, when the original citizen owners of the Andalusia hospital sold it to a private company. The sellers then invested the more than $2 million profit into the Andalusia Health Services foundation, which funds a variety of projects including scholarships for students entering professions in the medical field.

In order to receive a scholarship, the student must contractually agree to return to Covington County to practice his or her craft, following graduation.

“What we want to be able to do is increase the quality of medical care in Covington County,” said John Merrill, president of Andalusia Health Services, Inc.

Those who received scholarships, and their chosen fields, were: medicine — Patrick Jones; registered nursing — Kimberly Daniel, Jennifer Farrington, Kimberly Hornsby, Keri Ireland, Bradley Sanders and Angela Seymour; license practical nursing — Alicia Kendrick, Melissa Lynn and Wallace Sunde Jr.; radiology technician/imaging — Tashawna Anderson, Ashlan Glisson and Eden Hataway; speech pathology (master’s) — Emily Cleghorn; and EMS basic — Jarred Martin.